Endgame
by NotQuiteHuman01
Summary: The players have been chosen, the board has been set. From our world to theirs the players fight for the whole of humanity, the champions of our world fighting for us in theirs. Play well, for everything is at stake... in the Endgame. T for some swearing.
1. Chapter 1: Set up the Pieces

Chapter 1

That morning I was pulled from my contented dreams into the land of the almost awake by the shrill ringing of my malicious alarm clock. I moved with the groggy uncertainty of an indecisive alcoholic as I stumbled from my bed to my closet and riffled through in search of something even remotely sanitary to wear to my classes that morning. But on par with every other nineteen year old student on campus I had nothing but a collection of petri dishes I insisted were still shirts, so as usual I pulled a clean shirt and pants from my roommates closet and staggered back towards my bed for my shoes.

The room we shared was split literally down the middle, a visible line separating the unrepenting filth of my room and the almost sterile clean of his. We lived very similar lives aside from our cleanliness habits. Same classes, same clubs, same friends, we were close friends who covered each others backs and tolerated the others cleaning obsession/phobia because we likely couldn't live with anyone else. I waded through the swamp of clothes and other crap with a practised ease, holding the clothes a good distance from the floor to avoid contamination.

For the first time that morning I caught sight of the clock and swore angrily, once again Matt had set my alarm back an hour in another attempt at getting me up earlier than was strictly necessary. Realising I had an hour to kill before class I abandoned my attempts at dressing, dumping his clean clothes on the floor to rot with the rest out of irritable spite, and reached underneath the mattress, removing my secret shame from its hiding place. Matt and many other people on campus agreed that pokémon was, and I quote 'pretty gay', and my love of the games had not been tolerated, I had already lost one DS to their inter-bloody-ventions so I had started hiding my DS and pokémon games much to their ignorant joy.

I unsuspectingly flicked the power switch lazily and rolled onto my back. Even as the start up screen rolled by I felt strange, the world seemed to return to that feeling of half asleep and out of focus. Then as the opening screen loaded I saw something different. The screen looked like this…

You have been selected

Load

[Endgame]

Amazed and somewhat worried I tried to switch the DS off, the power button flicked back and forth but the screen remained the same. My mind said to leave it, the power would run out eventually and it'd turn off, wouldn't it? But another part of me was curious. What was this Endgame? A virus? Some kind of special feature or Easter egg? Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined what would happen next, what the Endgame truly was. But maybe from the moment that I saw the words on the screen I was trapped, I doubt anything would have stopped what happened next.

I pressed the A button, and everything changed. The room swirled and fluctuated around me. It was reminiscent of the only time I had ever tried LSD, for a moment whilst laying there surrounded by entrancing colours and shapes I wondered if Matt had been right; had the fumes from my rubbish tip final formed some kind of super drug? Suddenly to my, vocalised, disappointment the colours faded into pitch black. I found myself standing and had no idea how it had happened, with no other choice I simply stood and stared into the blackness. Despite my brief experience of it I quickly decided this was too boring to be the effect of an LSD, however I didn't have to wait long; words suddenly appearing in the blackness.

"Humanity has been chosen, its crimes are many and its self destruction seems imminent."

The whole thing seemed so surreal, despite the insanity of it all I still found myself thinking the most mundane and inexplicable thoughts. My first; all that for a freaking hippie speech? Second; I'm gonna be late for class. And third; I should ask Jane out before Simon does. Then the words continued and the tangents disappeared from my mind, like tuning a radio; clearing the background noise and sharpening the sound.

"Humanity must prove it is strong enough to survive the trails to come and work together to survive."

There was a brief pause as I processed this, wondering what it all meant. The words continued however before I got a chance to come to any real conclusion short of the same super drug explanation I'd had before, of course if it was true this gave me a worrying insight into the messed up nature of my own psyche.

"So it will be tested, you and forty nine others have been chosen. Spread about the universe you use for your games with only the tools of that world to survive, find others, unite, and survive. Almost everything that isn't human will be your enemy, and if you fail humanity is doomed. Everything you know is at stake, it is time for humanity to face… The Endgame."

Before I could reply everything shifted, the words swirled and were sucked into the darkness like water down a drain. The same happening to the blackness revealing the swirling colours underneath. Finally the intertwining colours grew brighter and brighter burning into my eyes painfully, until total white filled every inch of my vision. Impenetrable and brutal. After that, I could remember nothing more.

I groaned as I woke up, surprisingly before my alarm clock. I thought about that insane dream I'd had last night, Endgame huh? I'd had some weird dreams before but nothing like that, I'm probably a psychiatrist's worst nightmare. Hah! Try and figure out the meaning behind that! I had never liked psychiatrists, I found the way they always acted like they were better than you incredibly aggravating. At my old high school you were required to visit the school psychiatrist once a year, I'd just make stuff up and eventually get sent to a real psychiatrist who I'd tell the truth to. I got three psychiatrists fired during my time at that high school.

Reaching out I felt for my alarm clock, I was fairly awake and I didn't need the damn thing doing off while I was having breakfast or something. I was surprised to discover I couldn't find it, or my side table, both those discoveries quickly led to the revelation that I wasn't lying in my room. I was lying on grass. Taking the default response to something this weird I sprung to my feet and swore loudly, glancing around so furiously my eyes darted back and forth for several seconds after I stopped.

I had no recollection of how I had got here, or where here was. I was in a small clearing in what appeared to be a forest, there were no forests for miles around campus. I stared amazed at the dense forest around me, as if I could make the trees transform into my bedroom with the sheer force of my will. Then unprepared I looked down at myself, and swore in amazement again. I was dressed almost exactly like the pokémon trainer character in pokémon red! Right down to the cap, which I threw away in disgust. I have always stood by my belief that caps were the stupidest part of the pokémon trainer's wardrobe, considering the weather was almost always sunny and mild they served no purpose what so ever. I didn't mention it very often as it was embarrassing to discover few cared. Most thought it was redundant, struggling to understand why I cared that much about something so trivial.

It was then that I had a brainwave, the guys on campus had found my pokémon games. It all seemed to click into place after that. Finding my pokémon games they had quickly planned another intervention, buying an Ash Ketchum costume or something similar they had decided to leave me in a forest and make me find my way back to civilisation. No doubt I was about a mile or so from a bar where they were waiting for me with drinks and self satisfied smirks.

Sighing I started walking in a random direction, sure I would find an nature trail or something on the way I started working out how much it would cost to replace all my games this time. Deciding to forget it I examined my costume, they had done a good job. It came with a pokéball belt, leather and faded, that even had six pokéballs clipped to it. I shrugged, I had to hand it to them they had gone all out on this one.

After a few minutes of walking I heard a rustling in a thick clump of bushes to my right, relieved to have found someone I ran over crying out for them to stop.

I charged headfirst through the bushes, stopped and was sent tumbling backwards. To my shame I actually screamed like a little girl when I saw what had landed almost silently on leather pads just a few inches from my prone form. At first I thought it was a puma or lioness that had escaped from a local zoo, staring at the gleaming knives that were its teeth and the piercing claws that dug into the soft earth with the feeble hope I could reason with a relatively tame beast.

As it paced around me, smiling with malicious glee as it saw I was completely at it mercy, I realised it was no ordinary puma. Its arched body and toothy smile all looked like any big cat you could see at a zoo, but the six thick whiskers and the medallion fused to its skull weren't normal. I realised that this creature was a Persian, or what a Persian would look like in the real world. This could no longer be a prank, had some demented millionaire grafted a medallion to a lioness's head in an attempt to make pokémon real? What in god's name was going on?

Terrified I scrambled backwards desperately as the Persian approached me. Its tongue slid over its lips as if tasting the fear that gripped me, the smile of a predator gracing its features. Scared, desperate and confused I tried flinging dirt at it. The Persian ignored the mild irritation and continued to advance slowly, savouring the new wave of terror on my face with each step. My hands shook and my heart pounded so ferociously in my chest it felt like it was tearing through my skin with each beat, my shaking hand grasped one of the pokéballs on my belt and I flung it at the advancing huntress. I don't know what I expected it to do, I was only hoping it would buy me so much as another measly second of existence.

Whatever I had hoped would happen I would never have expected what happened next, the pokéball snapping open, the flash of bright white light, and the sudden appearance of another creature in the clearing. I looked on amazed as an Arcanine stared down the Persian, its teeth gleaming as it snarled a primal challenge to the fellow hunter. But this Arcanine wasn't just any Arcanine, the black patch over one eye, the cracked canine and the floppy left ear that made its head look lopsided. This looked exactly like Blaze, my Arcanine! My Arcanine? I didn't have an Arcanine, well except of course in the pokémon games and my (admittedly bad) fanfics

I watched the fight with the dazed fascination that came with humanities natural attraction to the inexplicable, I already seemingly knew what was going to happen. Or more correctly what Blaze would do. Opening with Extreme Speed, his fur blurred and his claws tore earth from the ground as he ran. In one smooth motion he leapt his opponent, embers breaking away from his fur and trailing behind him as he arced over the Persian. As he attacked with Fire Fang, his teeth shining red hot, I realised that this Arcanine didn't just look like Blaze, it was Blaze! The way he fought seemed so familiar and I found myself mouthing the attacks before they came.

Blaze clamped his jaws around the Persian's leg, the flickering flames searing the limb and scorching away fur. The Persian retaliated by clawing at Blaze's face, leaving a few shallow gashes on his muzzle which were enough to make him let go. The pair separated before colliding once again, flames spewed left and right as the pair tumbled across the clearing grappling with each other. After a few moments of furious fighting the pair separated again, this time Blaze spat a brutal inferno at the Persian. The flames cleaved the clearing in two, I lay dazed on one side of the searing inferno while the Persian dived towards the other side in order to avoid it. Even as the flames died away Blaze was moving, he dashed through the flames and erupted from the dwindling blaze to the accompaniment of an earth-shattering roar. The graceful yet brutal beast tackled the Persian to the ground. Then with such unbelievable ease its vice like jaws closed around the Persian's neck, and he tore the huntress's neck out.

The blood sprayed everywhere, Blaze had torn in my direction so the spray of blood that ensued drenched me completely. Blaze trotted over to me incredibly satisfied with himself, the Persian's blood still dribbling down his neck. As he approached I saw his throat convulse as he swallowed the Persian's flesh. I wiped the blood away from my eyes and stood, I glanced around and saw; a corpse, the creature that had killed it, myself covered in blood, and they were both pokémon to boot.

"I don't think we're in fucking Kansas anymore Blaze"

**Since Shadow Virus i had a few false starts when it came to writing new fics, however as Shadow Virus captivated my every thought two years ago so to does this fic today. i've promised myself i'm gonna see this one through to the best of my abilities. i hope you will all enjoy reading this as much as i enjoy writing it.  
**


	2. Chapter 2: Player 2 Has Entered the Game

Chapter 2

By the third night I'd finally come across some trace of civilisation, as I wandered through the city it became clear it was abandoned. Not that I cared, I was just relieved to find something made by human hands. Blaze and I wandered through the eerie ghost city with an optimistic caution, neither of us wanted to believe we would be attacked but we both knew it was fairly likely. Wandering through the empty city was… unnerving at best. It seemed so unnatural. We walked past schools and shops that remained silent and deserted, hollow monuments to the creations of people who; if they had ever existed; were long gone.

I had found scarce traces of food while travelling that was mostly fruit as I dared not risk eating berries I couldn't identify from the games, living on a solid diet of Oran berries and fruit had made my digestive tract a disaster area and I was looking forward to eating something that had been mercilessly slaughtered. Although over the previous days I had discovered I preferred to be kept out of the slaughtering process, unable to eat the pokémon Blaze killed and ate himself.

The other pokéballs had been empty, the idea that in this world of killers I would ever be able to tame another pokémon seemed to be almost a joke. I had no doubt that others would be killed trying to catch more pokémon, I remained fairly pessimistic about the chances of others. I myself would have never thought to try and use the pokéballs on my belt, pure chance allowing Blaze to save me from the Persian. So of the alleged forty nine others I had no doubt many would be dead fairly early on, simply because they hadn't guessed to use pokémon to defend themselves.

I had figured out earlier on that I was either heading North or South to get out of the forest, unsure which one as I couldn't remember whether the sun rises in the East or the West. Knowing pokémon geography fairly well I had narrowed down a list of possible locations. I was fairly sure I was in one of the big four; Kanto, Johto, Hoenn or Sinnoh. Finally I came across a game corner, I couldn't be in Mauvile or Saffron so I was either in Veilstone or Goldenrod. Considering the pokémon I had encountered Goldenrod seemed more likely, and coming across the Radio Tower confirmed my guess.

My knowledge of the city was fairly useless, the layout more like a real city and finding the familiar pixelated landmarks from the games was impossible. Eventually I found the massive Goldenrod Department Store that, aside from the plot, was the only reason I remained in Goldenrod while playing the games. The automatic doors still worked, well… until they opened without warning and Blaze melted them. Blaze taking the lead we crept into the dust filled first floor, the sun was sinking lower and lower with every step and the darkened room filled with criss-crossing shadows looked somewhat uninviting.

Finding a collection of confectionery behind the counter I hungrily and thankfully devoured the sugary foods, relieved to satisfy my painful craving for anything that wasn't fruit. It seemed odd to think about the person that must have left the sweets behind, were they a real person? What had their life been like? An entire existence created for the sole purpose of leaving behind a world for this 'Endgame' I shook my head as if shaking the thought away and returned to exploring the building.

Embarrassingly I was too chicken to explore any of the other layers in the dark, so I tore the cushioning off every seat I could find and constructed a mattress behind the reception counter. Curling up in my makeshift accommodations I sat and thought, taking the events from the previous days and running them through my head.

Blaze sat patiently as my mind wandered, his eyes chasing the shadows cast by the dim flickering glow of his fur. Excluding the spin off games there were five regions, fifty people spread over five regions meant there were only nine other people here with me in Johto. Johto was a big place, the chances of me coming across another… player? It seemed to fit, after all we were all just playing this 'Endgame'. The chances of coming across another player by accident were fairly low. I needed to send out a signal.

Blaze seemed capable of staying awake, although I did worry about the little sleep he seemed to be getting, but I was too tired to do anything but sleep at that point. My mind running over increasingly unlikely ways of send out a signal I drifted off to sleep, sleep came easily; likely because a part of me still believed this was a dream.

"The set up has finished, the game is entering humanities first turn. Three days, then it is your opponent's turn. The die have been cast, chance is on your side. Make use of this time of good fortune, the tides of the Endgame change quickly."

I woke groaning, Blaze stood over me protectively but I saw no pokémon blood. I hadn't been attacked in the night even once? I thought back to that dream. No I was being foolish, it wasn't a dream it was a message. I thought about its meaning, so aside from surviving I was also playing against something? And it was my turn, which meant I had to do all I could to prepare for their turn. Chance is on my side eh? Well then I guess I needed to send up a signal now while I was still… lucky.

The Goldenrod Department Store was the largest building in Goldenrod, the Radio Tower was the tallest but it was quite thin. For what I had planned I needed something very big, and preferably flammable. Wanting to salvage as much as I could I broke into the local houses and, with the help of Blaze, piled hundreds of mattresses around the outside of the store. Before working my way up through the floors throwing everything I could out the windows, down to Blaze bellow who dragged the items off the mattresses to make way for more. By the evening I had emptied the store of anything that could ever be of any use, large amounts of it were almost useless and far too heavy to carry but I saved everything just in case.

Having cleared away the items I then proceeded to fling newspaper into the bottom floor with a wild abandon, eventually ending with a blanket of paper that was a metre thick in some places. Tossing deodorant cans and bottles of lighter fluid in with the paper I could barely contain myself as the sun set, it was going to be an impressive show. Wearing the smile that could only be brought upon by causing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of property damage without any consequences I told Blaze to use flame-thrower, in what could only be described as the gleeful voice of an unrepenting pyromaniac.

The entire bottom floor of the building exploded in an unrelenting, all consuming, blazing, fireball. Blaze and I only barely cleared the outer echelons of the explosion and as I watched the dazzling inferno burst outwards I was worried the bottom floor would collapse, having the opposite effect to what I was hoping for. However my fears were unfounded as the bottom floor remained stable and the inferno climbed ever higher up the building, slowing as it neared the top but never ceasing as it consumed the last remains of the structure.

As I stood next to Blaze I watched the inferno flicker and twist, like a living creature ensnaring the building in an inescapable blaze. The glow must travel for miles I thought, watching enthralled by the incredible sight. Satisfied I had sent a suitable message I thought about the other players, how many would see the signal? How many would make it to the city? Would they know any more than me? It was getting dark, since the start of the Endgame my sleep schedule had changed; I would simply sleep when it was too dark to do anything more. I was playing a game so I refused to waste any time. I still had the light from the fire and the bright full moon above me, so I left Blaze to monitor the fire; hopefully keeping it from spreading. I myself left to rifle through the mountain of supplies we had gathered, finding a bag to carry it all in first and then searching for the most powerful items I could find.

The next morning I was as before alone in the hollow city, the fire still burning bright and visible; my beacon of hope for the others that watched from who knew how far away? Who knew how long it could last for still? Continuing to draw in my fellow players like moths, so that we could prepare for the game ahead. As long as Blaze remained its shepherd, shifting through the flames with the ease of a water pokémon through water. The heat and energy of the flames invigorated the fire hound who showed no signs of tiring as he manipulated and directed the inferno with an instinctual ease.

By midday my bags were packed and my belly full, I had sampled a little of every meal from every restaurant I could find. I had not noticed in the store but everything remained but the inhabitants themselves, plates left with half eaten meals on the tables; purses on chairs, drinks half empty by plates. It terrified me to think that I was playing against a creature that could just remove an entire civilisation at will, entire cultures and societies disappearing in the blink of an eye. I didn't stay long inside any building, the traces of its previous inhabitants unnerved me too much, so with my bags packed I spent a lot of that day on the rooftops. I sat and stared out over the unwavering horizon, my eyes searching for traces of others. The view made me feel so alone, the knowledge that out over the massive expanses the only inhabitants were pokémon. I was alone in a sea of enemies, the waves growing higher as each second ticked past bringing me closer to the next turn. And the unknown trials that awaited.

I leant back and closed my eyes, feeling the warm sun on my face and the cool breeze wash over my body. The heat from the fire radiated over me and I drifted into a lazy sleep cocooned in the comforting warmth. When I woke it was late evening and Blaze still couldn't smell any scent other than our own. Bored and wanting to do something constructive I decided to put my technology skills to good use, after some experimentation and several electric shocks I managed to produce a pocket torch that gave off a blinding neon light ten times more powerful than any normal torch. Satisfied I had achieved something constructive I once again slept, wondering if anyone would reach the city before the next turn.

I was woken in the middle of the night by a ferocious howling, Blaze stood over me; his teeth bared and saliva dripping to the ground bellow as it escaped his animalistic snarl. I slept in my clothes on the rooftops of the city, the fire kept the temperature around me comfortable so blankets were unnecessary. As such I needed no time to prepare before vaulting onto Blaze's back and bidding the tense beast to show me what was wrong, my hands like claws I clung to his fur as he sprung off the rooftop onto another. His muscles rippled as he sprang from roof to roof with me on his back, my weight seemingly insignificant to the wolf the size of a small pony but with the power of ten horses.

Blaze ran with an unrelenting speed, watching the buildings rise up to meet us by the dim light of the fire behind us was terrifying. My heart flying up to my throat with each arcing jump as we neared the edge of the city, we leapt off the last building and landed with a loud thud on the soft earth bellow. The soft moist earth dried and cracked beneath Blaze's feet, my own legs were starting to burn from the heat radiating from Blaze's fur.

Finally I caught sight of what Blaze had detected, we burst into the middle of a group of Granbull that had surrounded two figures. I cheered happily when I saw another person, a girl around the same age as me, alongside a panting Wigglytuff. Blaze landed in the centre of the group and roared fiercely, flames erupting from his open maw as he did. His jaw slammed shut and he bore his teeth at the Granbull, little tongues of flame slipping in between the gaps in his fangs. I ran over to the girl and the Wigglytuff while Blaze remained in a tense stand off with the Granbull, they were unwilling to surrender their prey but none of them wanted to be the first to attack the primal image that stood before them.

Then the stalemate broke as three Granbull attacked at once, before Blaze could even attack them the other Granbull charged as well. I stumbled backwards supporting the exhausted girl and her Wigglytuff at the same time, unwilling to abandon my loyal friend I dropped the two of them a few metres away and grabbed the largest stick I could. I brandished my makeshift weapon, trying to feel as confident as I acted.

As the Granbull advance Blaze dug his claws into the ground and unleashed the most brutal roar he could, several Granbull freezing in their tracks at the furious sound. They were the first to die, Blaze homed in on their hesitation and leapt forward. The flickering embers that slipped in between his fangs erupted into a blazing inferno that overflowed his mouth and poured up his muzzle. His jaw clamped around one Granbull's shoulder, the searing heat of his fangs ripped through the flesh with ease and he tore the limb off with a flick of his head. He flung the limb to the ground and snapped open his maw, unleashing a blazing pillar of flames that burnt through all of one Granbull's left ribs stripping the face of a second free of fur or skin.

As the flames died away Blaze's left hind leg lashed out, catching an unsuspecting Granbull in the stomach and tearing a rib out along with a lung. Blaze's next Flame-Thrower died in his throat as a Brick Break attack smashed into the side of his collarbone, he tumbled to the right and crashed to the ground several metres away from the Granbull that hit him. The Granbull roared in triumph only for the sound to die in its throat as a blast of dragon energy in the form of a Dragon Pulse attack smashed into its throat, disintegrating several layers of flesh and muscle. The Granbull's head flapped over on the remaining skin and it toppled to the ground as Blaze climbed to his feet, spitting a cloud of red hot Ember's into the face of another.

The Granbull learnt, several attacked Blaze directly while several more dodged around him and lunged for the other two and I. I yelped and tried to fend them off with my trusty stick, unsurprisingly it had little effect. Angrily Blaze threw himself away from the others throwing his head back his mane rippling as he did, skidding across the ground leaving a trail of dust he unleashed a brutal Hyper Beam. The relentless blast of raw power punched a narrowing hole through each of the Granbull that attacked us, saving us but leaving Blaze in a pile on the floor rendered immobile by the attack.

The Granbull fell upon Blaze, claws flashed as they prepared to tear the defenceless pokémon to shreds. Tears filled my eyes and I screamed angrily wishing I could do something, time seemed to slow as the razor sharp claws arced towards Blaze's flesh. Then another scream filled my hearing, the waves of sound were almost visible as the exhausted Wigglytuff poured all the strength of its lungs into the Hyper Sound attack. Even Blaze flinched at the sound which shattered the closest Granbull's ribs, others simply recoiling in pain.

Then Blaze disappeared, the Granbull were too slow to see the Extreme Speed attack that Blaze used to get behind one Granbull and rip its head off. In the explosion of blood the Granbull stood stunned as Blaze skidded to a halt by me, forming a flimsy plan I returned the girls Wigglytuff for her and threw her onto Blaze. Jumping onto him I shouted for him to run back into the city, the fire hound's muscles screaming in protest as he carried us away from the Granbull.

The Granbull gave chase, under normal circumstances they could never keep up with him; but between his fatigue and carrying two passengers they could just barely keep up as we weaved in and out of the city streets. We raced through the winding streets of Goldenrod by the light of the blazing inferno that had once been Goldenrod Department Store, Blaze started to slow as we neared the fire. Improvising on the already flimsy plan I pulled the girl and myself off Blaze, she seemed only semi conscious and incapable of walking without my help. Screaming at Blaze to go to the store he quickly understood my plan and burst off using Extreme Speed, I dragged the girl behind me as I fled from the Granbull. My heart pounding I tried desperately to survive for the few seconds Blaze needed, eventually tumbling to the floor the girl falling beside me.

I closed my eyes as the Granbull descended upon me, but snapped them open again when I heard a roaring howl and saw a blazing flash of fire. Blaze burst from the inside of the burning building the flames trailing behind him, as he ran toward us the entire towering inferno trailed behind him. His Fire Fang attack coating him in a burning aura that the fires fuelled, he leapt arcing towards the Granbull with his trail of fire now stretching the length of a dozen buildings. The remaining Granbull were burnt to cinders by the force of the blazing inferno as his momentum carried him through several buildings, the Granbull dead he released the trail of fire which washed back towards the building like a tsunami.

The girl had fallen asleep the moment we were out of danger, as had I. She didn't wake the next morning so I left her to recover, taking the pokéball off her belt and releasing her Wigglytuff. Using the massive mountain of items at my disposal I treated the pokémon's injuries and healed the superficial wounds, the exhaustion and internal injuries however were something that would have to heal on their own. Despite several clearly fractured bones the pokémon seemed surprisingly strong, and I guessed that given time the injuries would heal on their own.

As soon as I woke I went and found Blaze's favourite food, Torchic nuggets in gravy, and made as many as I could. Letting the deserving beast gorge himself on the feast to his hearts content, before searching for some toast for my own breakfast. The girl awoke as I was trying to toast a bagel using only a metal spatula and Blaze's internal heat because there was no electricity except for batteries, I feel that I could have made a better first impression than.

"Come on you bloody bagel just fucking toast!" but what's done is done.

Offering her breakfast and explaining my earlier cursing I sat down with her and ate. She remained silent for most of the meal, breaking that silence only to ask about her Wigglytuff; which I assured her was fine. The pokémon in question was in one of the bedrooms of the building beneath us at that point, I had insisted it rest. Finally she finished eating and seemed to brighten up, giving me a large smile she stuck out her hand fiercely and shook mine as hard as she could.

"I'm Sarah" she said releasing her vice grip on my poor hand.

"Sam" I replied with my usual grin.

After that we covered introductions, she came from England like me and had been playing pokémon that day four days ago when she got sucked into the Endgame. Unlike me she had been unlucky enough to wake in Violet and headed for the cross point between Violet, Ecruteak and Goldenrod, was attacked and chased by a group of Growlithe she had cut through the thick forestry towards Goldenrod and stumbled across the Granbull around the second day. They had been tracking her and Wigglytuff since then and had cornered her at that point, forcing Wigglytuff to fight. Before she had been student like him, working towards a mathematics degree. Despite that she was surprisingly fit, which was the result of her favourite hobby; rock climbing. She was, like me, a fairly hardcore fan of pokémon; reinforcing my theory that the people who had been selected all had to be somewhat familiar with the pokémon universe.

She had got the same message in her sleep as I had, and knew nothing more than I did. After using Blaze's flame to brew two cups of coffee we sat sipping our drinks, discussing the Endgame and what we thought was going to happen, I shared my pessimistic views on the other players survival rate. She countered by pointing out that most people would think it was a dream and try to use the pokéballs because of it, as she had. I accepted this sceptically, but still remained fairly pessimistic; if somewhat more hopeful.

We must have spent the entire of that day just talking, after four days of complete isolation in this creepy ghost city I was just happy to have someone to talk to. She was a kind-hearted girl and an optimist, much to my despair. Her hair was long and flame red, and in the light it cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall of fire. The burning red of her hair highlighting her soft pale features, she was a tomboy; wearing baggy jeans that had no doubt be bought in the men's section and a similar black jacket. Yet they were both for someone a lot smaller than her, falling about an inch short of her belly button and highlighting her curved but well built figure.

Over the course of the day we decided to stay until the end of the next 'turn' which we assumed would be three days like this one, we guessed that our turn would be the safest time to travel and remaining here for the next turn would give the signal more time to work. Putting out the signal before we left would be the difficult part but I decided to wait until it was necessary before dwelling on it, in the mean time we simply packed another bag for her with as much as we could carry and searched the town for anything useful we hadn't already found.

In just under a day we had become good friends, I was relieved to discover that she wasn't incredibly racist or something else along those lines and I was glad to have found someone that I got along with. In fact her optimism was just what i needed to kick start my trusty pessimism; much to her dismay.

It was the middle of the final day of our turn, as I had expected no one else had turn up, and the sun was blazing in the sky making our time spent walking all over the city in search of anything we could find almost unbearable; except of course to our lucky fire hound who became exceedingly hyperactive. Much to everyone's annoyance. We had made it to the game corner and Sarah was leaning over the counter rummaging through everything on the other side. I paused for a moment, stopping to admire the view, and wolf whistled. She just laughed and I returned to what I was doing, trying to get into the back room.

While I attempted to break the lock on the door she finished and joined me, playfully slapping me on the head for my earlier wolf whistle. Eventually I gave up and had Blaze melt the door, much to Sarah's disapproval, she had got it into her head that we shouldn't damage the city too much for after the Endgame was over. I tried to convince her that this universe would probably just disappear afterwards, but she was infuriatingly stubborn. Although I did see the irony when we got into an argument about caps.

I nudged the door, the whole thing toppling and crashing into the ground, and walked in. Sarah however, wandered off to look elsewhere after seeing how empty the room was. The room was dark, there was no power so the only light came from Blaze's fur. I stumbled about in the darkness rummaging through the mostly useless plush toys and trinkets that were arranged and stacked in huge crates, until I tripped and brought the whole thing crashing down around me. All the trinkets tumbled to the floor on top of me, including one sphere; which rolled down the pile hit the floor and cracked open.

There was a flash of light and suddenly I was face to face with a weird square pokémon, I shouted and a burst of flame lit up the room as Blaze stared down the pokémon; his fangs glowing red hot in the darkness. I looked at the pokémon, I could see it was a Porygon now, it seemed startled. I didn't look like any of the pokémon I had come across in the wild, in fact the look in its eyes resembled the one in Blaze and Wigglytuff. It suddenly hit me, this pokémon was tame! It seemed the Endgame was fairer than I had given it credit for, maybe those pokéballs weren't so useless after all.

"Hey Sarah!" I shouted disentangling myself from the pile of crap and returning it to the pokéball.

"How much do you wanna bet you can't guess what I just found?"

**Okay first, i don't know why my chapters are this short. they're usualy longer than this, like 5000+ words each! anyway, here was have player 2, but i have a gamecube sooooooo... what about players 3 and 4? as such i figured i could try something i've never done before and ask for some submisions, as detailed or basic as you like. Just shove it on the end of a review and i'll pick two (or just one depending on a sudden drop in demand for OC's) to go in the story. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and remember, you can never give this story to much publicity! tell your friends! your enemies! your pets! =) PLS R+R!**

**okay you can go now**

**what are u still here for?**

**just go!**

**seriously!**

**i'm warning you!**

**5**

**4**

**3**

**2**

**1**

**okay that's it!**

**you asked for it :P  
**


	3. Chapter 3: New Faces, Same Game

Chapter 3

"The die have been cast, the opponents turn has begun. Fortune has reversed although it remains in your favour, your symbol of unity will become a rally point for your foes. Fight or flight?"

XXX

_Date: seventh day since the Endgame began._

_I dreamt about it again last night, ever since the Endgame began I've had this same dream. Even on the nights of the message I still have that same nightmare, I still have to relive that same day._

Sadly she ran her fingers along the surface of the locket she wore around her neck, her fingers lightly tracing the familiar curves and scratches of the heart shape. Slowly her fingers drift away from the metal and she wiped away a single tear, all she would allow herself, telling herself over and over again to not think about it. She couldn't allow herself to show weakness in this world, taking a deep breath she focused on the character she had to play; the Glorian Bindy that she needed to be to survive. The tears and sadness gone she returned to writing, the only outlet the real Bindy had in this world.

_I think I'm approaching Violet city, although in this messed up world nothing looks the same. The beacon I saw several days ago went out today, I can only assume that for some reason the people who created it were forced to move on. My only choice is to continue on towards Olivine and hope that they too chose to go that way, I wonder who they are? What pokémon do they have? Do they know anything about the Endgame that will be of any use? I have come to except that I'll need to group together if I wish to survive, even with Aster I wont be able to survive should I come across a large group of pokémon._

She stopped for a moment paused in thought and glanced around at her surroundings, her eyes resting on the figure of Aster. The Shiftry's own pale yellow eyes darted back and forth, always watching for any sign of another pokémon. She smiled lightly at the sight of her loyal bodyguard and his eyes immediately swiveled to meet hers, returning her smile with one of his own; the usual mischievous smile that instilled distrust towards the pokémon in all but Bindy.

_Aster has been incredibly protective of me since the beginning, however I'm glad. Without him I would have never made it this far. I fought off a Pidgeotto alone yesterday, the scratch on my shoulder still hurts but it has stopped bleeding, I doubt dad would have expected me to be using all those martial arts classes like this._

For a moment her mask nearly fell off at the casual mention of her father, but she choked back the sadness with powerful restraint and held the mask on straight. Continuing with her writing and ignoring the stain on the page, the spot where her tears had splash onto the faded paper.

_I can feel how much stronger I've been getting, these last seven days have been invigorating; no cares at all just the thought of carrying on. The pressure points they taught me have been useless but I've been noticing that these pokémon have got pressure points, they're just in different places. I've already found one that most pokémon seem to share._

Underneath she quickly sketched a crude drawing of several different pokémon, followed by an arrow pointing to a certain part of the neck. After finishing this she wrote a quick explanation of how to find this bundle of nerves in the pokémon's neck and what it did.

_It's usually near where the spine meets the neck, it doesn't seem to affect the pokémon physically but it does mess up their attacks for up to a good twenty seconds. It's also a good way to get something sharp into the pokémon's neck, if I ever find a rapier or similar blade it should be easy to kill any pokémon by stabbing this point._

_Well it looks like the sun is coming up, I've got to return Aster so he can rest and get a move on. The sooner I get to Olivine the better, I don't know what this 'opponent' is going to do but I'd rather be somewhere where I'm not surrounded by trees and hiding places for pokémon._

_It feels so weird to write this, when all this is over will this journal come back with me? To think that I should have been attending my first week of college over the last few days, that life seems like a dream now; so unimportant. How can I ever go back? After all this how can I just forget it all and go back to… that? But I cant live in the past… or the future I suppose, I need to focus on the here and the now._

Sighing and yawning at the same time, something that wasn't easy, she stowed the faded journal into her bag and stood stretching, as she did you could easily make out the tough muscle being pulled taught that had been hidden beneath her skin. Her black tank top was ripped in some places but she had nothing else, the marginally less ripped hooded top hid some of the tear but with the zip broken her stomach and far to much of her bra was still on display. What had once been a pair of designer stone washed skinny jeans had been cut off just bellow the knees as the fabric had been torn to shreds, although thankfully her green and white running sneakers had survived.

Cautiously she slipped the antique pocket watch from her pocket and checked the time, it was early morning but in reality she had no interest in the time. Her constant checking of the time a subliminal excuse to make sure that the only trace of her father she still had was still there. With great care she slid the pocket watch back into her jeans pocket, happy to feel the reassuring pressure of the watch on her thigh.

Pushing her bangs to the side and out of her eyes she glanced around for Aster's pokéball, as she leant over to pick it up her golden brown hair fell over her face; reminding her to tie it back out of the way. Aster caught her eye and she smiled, the pokémon stared back into the shining peridot green eyes and scowled irritably; recognising the mischievous glint in her eyes and knowing what came next.

Returning Aster despite his silent protest she pulled the backpack onto her shoulders, tucking the locket into her top she set off at a brisk pace. Aster's minimised pokéball a split second of thought away she relaxed, losing herself in the merciful distraction of the physical work. Always pushing herself forward to walk faster, never walking around obstacles always over or through, making moving forward so hard she never had time to look back.

XXX

She had been right, a few hours of travelling saw her entering the deserted Violet city late lunchtime. She found the emptiness rather soothing, the silence offering no distractions as she sought out food and supplies. She was unaffected by the emptiness of the city, relishing in the unnatural silence of the derelict structures.

She threw herself into the search with the same intense focus and deliberation that she had put into everything since the beginning of the Endgame, methodical and focused in her monotonous search of the empty buildings. She worked long through the day, Aster in his pokéball the city was unearthly silent. Needless to say she did not whistle while she worked. Yet Bindy was not troubled by the silence, she welcomed the isolation, it kept her mind blank and focused.

Finally she moved her search towards the Gym, the sun had sunk low in the sky and the cool breeze of the day had become a chilling wind in the absence of the midday sun. Pulling her sweater around her in an attempt to keep some of the chill out she pushed the door open and walked inside, the moment she stepped inside she felt a chill run down her spine and seconds later she collapsed.

XXX

"Challenge begin; Gladiator, Opponent; Pidgeot, choose your weapon…" Bindy was suddenly aware that the words were flashing, almost… impatiently? Just as she was about to say 'pokémon' she paused, could she win this alone? The Endgame was giving her a gift, and she could pick whatever she liked.

At first Bindy thought of a gun, an automatic weapon would make light work of her opponent, but then she started to think. This was like a wish from a genie, if she asked for a gun no doubt she would get no ammunition; she had to ask for something else. Her thoughts turned to her earlier diary entry, a bladed weapon? Back on her school fencing team she had never used a real rapier, and could she really kill something in cold blood?

She made her decision, "I choose… a Rapier" she said. Her voice quivered slightly as she spoke and she felt he hand shake as she took the rapier that appeared in front of her, this real weapon was light but still heavier than any of the weapons she had used before.

XXX

Suddenly the words faded away and she woke, as she did she heard a squawk. The second her eyes opened she was awake and was just fast enough to avoid the shining blur that flew towards her, as she dived away she felt the cold steel of the rapier in her hand properly for the first time. Forgetting everything she had learnt she staggered to her feet and slashed wildly at the pokémon, forcing it to retreat for a moment and giving her time to stumble away.

Turning tail she fled towards the other side of the Gym, throwing herself behind a pile of crates just in time to nearly be crushed against the adjacent wall when the pokémon's gust attack slammed into them. Throwing herself clear once again she clambered to her feet and faced the pokémon, her face a picture of uncertainty and her hands shaking in fear. Seeing it clearly for the first time, if she couldn't already recognise the Pidgeot then she would have remembered the words she had seen before. The Pidgeot was unharmed, only a few stomach feathers bore any signs of her wild flailing about with the rapier before.

Gulping she waited for it to attack, rewarded a few moments later when the giant bird sped into the highest points of the Gym only to dive at her from its great height. At the last second the Pidgeot banked and caught her off guard, catching her in the chest with its wing. As she stumbled backwards winded the Pidgeot swung round and lashed out at her with its claws, she barely avoided having her stomach torn open by the gleaming claws.

Backing into a pillar Bindy cracked her head against the metal and staggered sideways dazed, spots swam in her vision as by some miracle she avoided another slash. Her mind stumbled and staggered like she did as the Pidgeot circled above, she tried to think straight and failed; only able to stagger as best she could away from the incoming attacks. Finally it took a slash to her shoulder to bring her back to reality, the spurt of crimson filling her vision and clarifying her thoughts. But instead of straightening up and offering resistance she remained head in hand apparently still dazed, at least in the Pidgeot's eyes.

With an almost vicious smile of triumph she straightened as the Pidgeot lashed out and drove her rapier through the Pidgeot's wing, narrowly avoiding a set of curved knives this pokémon called talons. Tearing the rapier out in a spray of blood she dodged backwards as the Pidgeot flailed wildly, clearly enraged and in excruciating pain. Showing off her years of martial arts training Bindy grabbed one of the flailing limbs and spun the furious pokémon in one smooth motion, much to its immediate confusion. Her hand pulled backwards and she thrust forward, she would have thrust her blade straight through the pokémon's neck and killed it; had her hand not frozen inches away from the pokémon's flesh her face turning from triumph to terror.

She wasn't ready to kill a pokémon she realised, she knew she would have to in order to survive but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. The choice was made for her however when the Pidgeot turned and lunged at her, impaling itself on her blade in its blind fury. Blood spurted from the wound as the pokémon went limp, toppling on top of her; not that she noticed having already fallen unconscious.

XXX

"You have won the challenge, chose your reward; power or knowledge?"

Bindy paused for a moment as she thought about it, while she wanted to know more about the Endgame she knew that the information would be useless if she was dead. But then again as the old saying went, knowledge is power. She spent a few moments lost in debate, before finally making her decision.

"Knowledge" she said with a sense of uncertainty, her voice quivering as she did.

"Ask your question"

Once again Bindy paused, she had so many questions and there were so many things she wanted to know. How could she condense it all into one question? Eventually she asked the question she most wanted to know the answer to.

"What is the Endgame?"

"The Endgame is a test, a trail, a chance for humanity to demonstrate its strengths, creativity, adaptability, ingenuity all these qualities are tested in the Endgame. It is the ultimate trail of a species right to exist, of what they can bring to the universe"

XXX

Without warning Bindy suddenly found herself thrown from the darkness into consciousness, hitting her body at a hundred miles an hour and waking disorientated. But it didn't take her long to notice the corpse lying on her, she screamed and scrambled out from under the dead form of the Pidgeot. Seeing the blood coating her body her mask fell and she threw up, disgusted, terrified, alone. It was then that Aster released himself from his pokéball, he didn't even look at his surroundings, knowing immediately what to do.

With a flick of his fans he spun her, the blood spraying left and right as it was blown off by the precise winds, before marching her outside. Where he sat her down, placed the rapier to their right and simply waited. He waited patiently over the several hours as Bindy forced her mask back on, struggling to push her emotions down into her core away from sight.

_The Endgame sprung something on me today, these challenges are going to be useful. I don't know what else I may have to do but if I come across more challenges I may be able to earn new weapons, new ways of surviving. To be honest, I'm scared, I don't know if I can deal with killing again. Thank god I still have Aster, he can deal with the pokémon for me, I can't afford to slip again like I did this afternoon. I need to be strong, I promised him I'd survive._

She finished the scrawling the therapeutic notes and glanced at Aster refusing to make eye contact with the pokémon, ashamed of her earlier slip. He nodded, she snapped the journal shut and shoved it in her bag. Rising they set off for the outskirts of the city, Aster following behind her, both totally silent, neither made a sound, like ghosts they headed for Olivine in search of the people who had lit the fire in the distance, emotionless, single-minded, ready to fight for survival.

XXX

Yawning Heath woke with the light, letting himself drift between awake and asleep for a moment he eventually pulled himself up from the bed he had been sleeping in. groaning for a moment he stared confused at someone else's bedroom before his mind fully woke and he remembered where he was, sleeping in the largest bed he could find in Ecruteak. Stumbling over to the window he glanced out at the streets, Gardevoir sat unmoving in the street bellow; his mind constantly scanning the perimeter of the city for pokémon.

"Morning Gardevoir, quiet night?"

_"Yes master, several Pidgey have been huddling just outside the city; may I go and remove them?"_

"Feel free you've earned a break"

_"Thank you master"_

Heath watched as Gardevoir rose and took off across the city, his feet never quite touching the floor as he slid over the ground like ice. Pulling his head back into the room he glanced around and retrieved his clothes, pulling the multicoloured shirt on and struggling down the stairs pulling his jeans on. His shirt was four stripes of blue, purple, green and red but the colours were dim so they were less noticeable than you might expect, an odd contrast to the colourful shirt his jeans were a faded black.

The most noticeable part of his clothing was the real sapphire necklace that he wore around his neck, the deep blue standing out against the healthy tan of his otherwise Caucasian skin. Finally he found his watch, a metallic digital device filled with added features he couldn't figure out, and pulled on his black and white running shoes. Wandering downstairs he pulled some Wheatabix from the cupboard and ploughed through several bowls, finishing just in time to walk outside and see Gardevoir arrive slightly bloodstained.

"Nice timing Gardevoir"

_"Thank you master, shall we leave?"_

Heath nodded and they started their walk towards Olivine, having long since decided that avoiding the lake of rage would be a good idea. Suddenly Heath paused in thought,

"Hey Gardevoir I just realised that I haven't seen that fire since last night." He remarked casually to the pokémon at his side.

_"Yes Master" Gardevoir replied, "It was extinguished during the night."_

"I'm not surprised," Heath replied. "I mean seriously, how could whoever started it possibly think that its not telling every pokémon in a hundred mile radius to come and get them. They're probably dead and to be honest it not much of a loss."

_"Yes Master" Gardevoir said._

Heath watched the sun rise as he walked, he had covered most of the city by the time the sun had fully emerged form behind the horizon. With mild curiosity he looked at the figure of Burned Tower, the ruinous structure drawing his eyes like metal to a magnet for some inexplicable reason.

"We're gonna go check that out" he said simply, not waiting for any type of response before striding off.

_"Yes Master" Gardevoir said._

Striding into the crumbling remains of the building Heath glanced around, the evidence of the great fire that destroyed it remained even now. As Heath marvelled at this figure of his childhood brought to life Gardevoir stood behind him, his eyes closed as he watched for foes with his mind.

Heath opened his mouth to speak but froze mid syllable, crumpling to the ground without warning. Gardevoir's hand lashed out with inhuman speed and Heath froze in mid-air, the protective psychic pokémon gently lowering him to the ground before standing over his master loyally waiting for him to wake.

XXX

"Challenge found; Escort, successfully escort the Oddish to the location. Target Location; Burned Tower Basement."

XXX

Heath woke to find a limp Oddish lying on his stomach, the pokémon's limp leaves covering his face. Pulling the leaves away he was suddenly confronted by the sight of several flying Magmar, he had little time to be surprised though as seconds later the Magmar smashed into an invisible barrier in front of him. Glancing up he saw Gardevoir stood over him, the pokémon's face was contorted into lines of concentration as he held back several attacks and several Magmar at the same time.

"Gardevoir!" Heath shouted standing and clutching the Oddish instinctively, "Use Hypnosis, full power!"

Gardevoir nodded and the barrier dropped suddenly, the Magmar crashing to the ground as Gardevoir sent out a fluctuating purple wave. Even as the dust settled from the Magmar's impact with the ground they were asleep, there faces suddenly twisting in agony as Gardevoir killed them with Dream Eater.

Breaking into a run Heath headed for the closest way down, Gardevoir following close behind. The pokémon quickly scanned Heath's mind in order to find out what was going on, before shooting ahead and waiting at the next bend; his mind flying through the building as he calculated how many pokémon were coming after them.

_"Master" Gardevoir said as Heath passed, "there are at least one hundred Magmar in the tower and all are now heading towards us"_

"Christ" said Heath as he skidded round a corner and saw three Magmar approaching, throwing himself back around the corner as a wave of blazing flames smashed into the wall opposite. "Gardevoir!" he shouted.

Gardevoir strode out in front of the Magmar, the pillars of flame flowing around his outstretched hand. The Magmar were surrounded by an aura of purple which suddenly disappeared in an instant when the Magmar's heads crumpled, the blood seeping out as they fell to the floor limp.

"You're no help what so ever!" he hissed angrily at the limp Oddish as he sped along the hallway, Gardevoir once again just behind him. "I never did like Oddish" he said pettily as they ran. Gardevoir just ignoring his master's irate comments, trying to focus on scanning the entire building with its mind and running after Heath.

Suddenly Heath froze, before flying towards Gardevoir; just in time for a brutal inferno to smash through the walls and miss him and the Oddish by inches. With an audible growl Gardevoir sent the creature that created the flames flying backwards before pulling Heath after him as he followed it. Heath yelling in fear when they landed several floors down in front of an Entei, the legendary beast's fur flickering and rippling like flame whilst white hot flames poured out of its maw and around its jaw. It was seemingly unaffected by Gardevoir's earlier attack, earning visible surprise from Gardevoir; and possibly a small hint of admiration.

_"We are in the basement" Gardevoir stated to Heath "But I doubt the challenge will be over until this is dead."_

"Please tell me when you read my mind Gardevoir" Heath replied, stumbling backwards cradling the Oddish and, he hoped, giving Gardevoir enough room to fight the Entei without harming him.

_"Yes Master" Gardevoir replied, mentally going over the moves he knew; trying to decide how to fight the powerful pokémon._

Making his decision Gardevoir flicked his wrist, the skirt like form around his legs rippled and fluttered with the over flowing force of Gardevoirs psychic power. Using his psychic powers he tore free all the boulders around him, covering the battlefield in a thin layer of dust as he did, the boulders smashed together to form a protective wall in front of Heath the act requiring a mere thought. Gardevoir smirked at the Entei's surprise; it seemed the legendary had not expected him to be so strong.

"Your power is impressive _Child of the Mind_" growled Entei giving Gardevoir a respectful nod, his mane pouring over his head, embers flowing from the fur as it swept back. "But you have no chance against me, surrender and leave this place now and I will let you go unharmed."

"I'm afraid I can't _Dances in Flames_" Gardevoir replied, watching Entei intently and returning the respectful nod. "_My Giver of Strength_ needs me to defeat you."

"Many other _Champions of the Givers_ have tried to defeat me, they have all failed" Entei replied calmly, "The _Givers of Strength_ are gone and I refuse to allow any more to defile my masters birthplace."

"Then we must battle" Gardevoir replied, it was a statement; the negotiations were over. They had both realised they had no choice but to fight or back down.

"Yes… We must" Replied Entei, without warning spitting a swarm of blazing fireballs at Gardevoir. Diving sideways and crouching ready to attack his lips drew back in a primal snarl, revealing his fangs; the only barrier to hold back the roar that could ignite volcanoes.

Gardevoir only just formed a shield in time, the balls of flame dissipating just millimetres from his face. He was impressed, Entei knew better than to think too much about his attacks when fighting a psychic pokémon. He had seen the attack coming barely a second beforehand, much less than he was used to. Deciding to play his other ace Gardevoir leapt forward, bolts of lightning snaking in and out of his fist as he used Thunder Punch.

Gardevoir was very unique amongst Gardevoir's in that he had a powerful array of close combat attacks and was well trained in close combat, a second before his attack he used his psychic powers to launch himself to the right. He avoided the almost blade like flames of Entei's Fire Fang and hit him with a powerful Thunder Punch, only for Entei to barely flinch and retaliate with a lightning fast slash; the raking claws barely missing Gardevoir.

Heath watched with unconcealed terror as Gardevoir flipped backwards, skidding to a halt several feet away from Entei. Examining Entei it was clear he had taken almost no damage from Gardevoir's attack, while Gardevoir had some scorches from Entei's Fire Fang. Gardevoir looked down at his wounds in surprise, he hadn't even felt the attacks land. Entei had taken no damage from his direct attack whilst he had taken damage from an attack that missed, this was going to be a one sided fight.

_"Heath" Gardevoir said with the kind of commanding tone he almost never used on his master, "I suggest you hold on; I need you to be further away from me."_

"How fa-aaaaaah!" Heath shouted as he suddenly rose into the air, smashing through several floors, the charred wooden foundations exploding in a burst of splinters and yet without a single fragment of the ancient wood touching him.

Gardevoir met Entei's gaze, his eyes narrowing in irritation as Entei responded with a superior smirk. With Heath several floors away he could go full power, no longer having to worry about his master's safety; Heath currently lying dazed several floors up still desperately clutching an Oddish. Gardevoir hadn't expected to have to use that level of power, Entei had surpassed his expectations. Now, the real battle was about to begin.

XXX

"Hey Sarah" I asked, "do you think anyone saw our signal?"

She turned back to look at the burnt out form of Goldenrod Department Store, every part of her but her legs freezing for a moment. Even as we stared intently at the lifeless signal we both kept walking, watching the outline disappear into obscurity behind us as our legs moved with a robotic monotony. Our ingenious signal, according to the Endgame it would start drawing pokémon soon, hence why we were forced to leave the city that had been our home for the past week.

Sarah stopped walking for a moment, so she could fully make out the tower in detail "Maybe" she replied hesitantly and unsure "It's all down to luck I suppose."

XXX

**"Hey Sarah that was my only line in this entire chapter, have you seen my agent?" XD, but anyway i'd like to thank everyone who reads and reviews in general and more specificaly...**

**Korona Karyuudo for the OC Glorian Bindy**

**And KillerBuneary (previously ffgtfgtr) for the OC Heath Norwood**

**And finaly Cornova for being there for all my previous attempts at stories and his kind advice which helped me become the writer i am today, if you haven't you should check out his Pokewars series.**

**so enjoy the chapter and i'll get to work on the next on ASAP  
**


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